"I guess they do not see you as I do."

"You guess right."

Traian gave a sigh of regret. "I have to go, Joie. It is almost sunset. I have to find at least one of the master vampire's lairs before he rises."

"Do you have an idea where to look?" She traced first his face, and then his mouth with her fingertips, committing his face to memory with each caressing stroke.

"I hope they did not leave the cave. They were so reluctant to leave it before, but we had not discovered the mage traps. It is a dangerous place to be, even for the undead-maybe especially for the undead."

"Promise me that you'll contact me if you run into any trouble." She looked him straight in the eye, insisting on the truth.

"You are my lifemate, Joie. If I run into trouble, you will know." He bent his head to kiss her. Slowly. Lingering over it. Pouring his heart and soul into it.

Her mouth went dry the moment he stepped away from her. She sat all the way up and reached for a blanket, holding it to comfort her. "Traian, it's difficult to let you go alone."

"I know it is, sivamet-my love, and I thank you for your understanding. I know allowing me to hunt alone is against your nature, but truly, you and your brother and sister are in great danger here. It is just as difficult for me to leave you unguarded when I know danger is close. Your scents still linger in the cave and the undead can hunt using scent alone. Do not think for one moment that you are not hunted."

"Here? Surrounded by everyone in the village? Are they really that bold?"

"Vampires are very vengeful creatures. And they use humans to do their bidding. Anyone is a potential enemy."

"I have a lot to learn about vampires," Joie sighed. "All the training I've been through and my experiences on my job don't seem to count for much in dealing with them."

He caught her chin and kissed her again. When he stepped back, he was fully clothed, looked immaculate and a little bit lethal. "I removed the safeguards at your door so your siblings can enter without worry, but those at your windows remain. I will return as soon as possible."

Just that fast, Traian was gone. Joie lay back on the sheets, staring up at the ceiling, her heart pounding in fear for him. He was gone, slipping out through the window, a cloud of vapor streaming into the air. It wasn't yet sunset, but she felt as if the sun had gone down on her world.

Nothing can happen to you, she whispered into his mind. I would never forgive myself for letting you do this alone.

I can see I will have to impart my knowledge of hunting the undead as quickly as possible to you. It really is difficult for you to be left behind when there is danger surrounding me. Think of your siblings, Joie. They have great need of you.

Joie pressed her hand to her heart in an attempt to control the wild pounding. She took a deep breath to steady herself. This wasn't just about him going off alone to fight. Dread built fast. Had she not been touching his mind, she knew she would have thought him dead to her. Sorrow lurked just behind the dread.

It is only the effects of our connection. I am with you. Feel with your mind as a Carpathian must. It takes time to learn our ways, I know, but I cannot have you suffering grief when I am alive and well and able to reach out to you.

Determined to combat her growing sorrow, when there was no real reason for it, Joie sat up. It is amazing how intense the feeling is. And it is a little frightening to think that emotion is stronger than logic. I know where you are, yet I still have such a need to touch you-to feel you in my mind. It makes no sense.

The terrible need inside of her didn't make sense. Joie considered herself a very logical woman. She didn't like this out-of-control feeling, a dark dread that stole her good sense and her ability to reason. She lifted her chin. There were changes taking place in her body and mind, but that didn't mean she would give in to melancholy.

I'll be perfectly fine, Traian. You worry about yourself. I'll hang with Jubal and Gabrielle while you're gone, she a.s.sured him. I'm strong and can get through this. Don't you worry about me, just take care of yourself.

Stay close to Gary as well. He knows both the undead and my people.

Joie did the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes. As if. Traian, you're going to have to get over your outdated att.i.tude toward women. It must be your age. Gary is the one who needs protection. He lives in another world, just like Gabrielle, I can see it in him. He's more at home in a lab than fighting vampires.

But he knows the ways of the undead and how best to combat them. Stay close to him.

Joie clenched her teeth. She was never going to be the little woman, hiding behind the big brave man. If that's the kind of woman you want, you started something you never should have.

She felt a stroking caress along her face-feather-light-the gentle touch of fingers, yet he was no longer close to the inn.

I know exactly who you are, Joie, and what you are capable of. I do not mean to make you feel as if I don't think you can handle yourself. I know you will not panic and that you will fight the undead without hesitation. I am merely saying stay safe and keep the person who has been around Carpathian hunters close while I am gone. That makes sense, does it not?

Of course it made sense. She didn't have to like it, did she? Nor did she want to let go of her irritation, not with the strange grief of separation edging so close to her.

You might have mentioned your archaic att.i.tude and your stubbornness when you were being so blasted charming a few minutes ago.

His soft laughter echoed through her mind. You might have warned me I was going to be dealing with a modern female who is determined to get herself into dangerous situations.

The teasing in his tone warmed her-settled her. She took a deep breath and let it out. She knew he had to go without her in his mind. The vampires could detect him through his connection with her.

Just do whatever you have to do and return home safe to me.

Again she felt that feather-light brushing caress along her face. She placed her palm over the invisible mark, holding him close to her as his mind slipped from hers. At once she felt bereft, as though instead of mist streaming through the sky toward the caves, Traian lay beneath the earth dead to her. She was astonished at the strength of emotion pouring into her mind, once he was actually away from her.

Determined not to give in to the strange reaction to their separation, Joie took a long, hot shower. It was nearly impossible to stand beneath the cascading water without thinking of Traian, but she concentrated on pushing him out of her mind enough to figure out how to tell her parents that she was essentially married-and to someone not quite human.

Her father was accepting of everything his children did and was a very tolerant man. Her mother was fiercely protective of her children and loved them very much. Her family was her world. It had been her mother who insisted all of them take self-defense lessons almost from the time they could walk. Her father had been the climber of mountains and delved deep into the caves around the world. He had taught them a love of nature.

Joie sighed. Her mother wasn't going to welcome Traian. She had a major problem with alpha males, bristling the moment they walked into the room-almost as if she had radar. She'd been particularly hard on Jubal as they'd grown up.

She found she could hear conversations whispered in the rooms around her and even as far away as people moving in the sitting room. It took some practicing to turn down the volume, but not before she heard her sister and brother walking down the hall to her door. The cursory knock didn't at all surprise her, but the sound of a tool scratching in the lock did. She tensed and eased one hand out of the shower enough to grip her weapon until she recognized her sister's scent as she stuck her head in the bathroom.

"What are you doing, you crazy woman?" Joie demanded. "Were you hoping to get a peek at my man? That's grounds for shooting you."

"Ha! You wouldn't you know. And hurry up. Jubal and I are getting tired of waiting for you two. And you'd better not be doing anything perverted in that tiny little shower stall." She sounded more hopeful than anything else.

"How did you get into my room, you peeping Tom?" Joie threw a wet washcloth with deadly accuracy. "It was locked."

Gabrielle squealed when the cloth hit her square in the face. "I'm picking up your bad habits and wanted to show off." She sounded a little smug. "You aren't the only one who can pick a lock. In any case, Jubal double-dog dared me. What else could I do?"

"Pretend you're discreet while I'm trying to land a man. Sheesh, Gabby, he's going to think we're all a pack of perverts. You don't have to accept every one of Jubal's juvenile challenges."

"You do," Gabrielle pointed out, not in the least repentant.

"He only does that to make Mom crazy," Joie said.

"Are you in there alone? Because I don't want to see any naked bodies."

Joie let out a little sniff. "Then what are you doing in here, trying to see through the steam. I'm naked, if you want to know, but Traian already went back to the cave."

Gabrielle sighed. "I've already seen you naked and it's nothing to get too excited about, but that man of yours is drop-dead gorgeous. I don't know about this Carpathian business. He likes to be underground so much, he could very well be a troll. What are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" This time there was glee in Gabrielle's voice.

"I've been rehearsing," Joie admitted. She emerged from the stall, wrapped in a bath sheet. "It has occurred to me to lie to them. And I thought you preferred skinny men. I saw you ogling Gary last night."

"I don't ogle," Gabrielle sniffed indignantly. "I never ogle. I just thought he was rather on the cute side. And you weren't looking close enough. He's not skinny, he has plenty of muscle, just not obscenely sticking out everywhere." She sighed heavily, frowning. "I wish I was one of those really beautiful, stick-thin model types all men fall over. Even if I dyed my hair blonde and learned to flip it around, I don't think I'd ever perfect the art of flirting."

Joie glared at her. "You are beautiful, you idiot. You're just crazy. If this man can't see your worth, he isn't as smart as you think he is."